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1920s Fashion In Art
1920s Hair 1920s Hairstyles History- Long Hair to Bobbed Hair A Variety Of Skirt Lengths Young flappers liked short skirts but mid-calf was another popular length, made for tall, skinny bodies. “Exoticism” Fur 1920s Children’s Fashion Clothes in children’s catalogues offer a glimpse into how the wealthy classes were dressing their children. The dresses above…
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The Overview Effect In Fiction
If you’re reading a picture book and you ever come across a page like this one, you might be seeing the overview effect as utilised by storytellers.
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Autumn Colours in Illustration
The basic meaning of ‘autumn colour’ is clear. Even within that palette, there is a huge variety of hues illustrators use to depict fall. Below are examples including realism and heightened, saturated fantasy colours.
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The Daughters of the Late Colonel by Katherine Mansfield Analysis
“The Daughters of the Late Colonel” (1922) is a modernist short story by Katherine Mansfield, included in The Garden Party And Other Stories.
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Women and Shoplifting in Fiction
Watch enough TV and you’ll likely draw the conclusion that women, especially housewives with significant personal problems commonly relieve psychological pain by shoplifting. It’s rare to find men shoplifting for the buzz. Also in fiction, teenage girls shoplift as a hazing ritual, and to own prized items (mostly body adornment items) they couldn’t otherwise afford.…
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Illustrations Of Ominous Faces In Shadow
Photographers understand that faces can change significantly depending on how they are lit. Illustrators also know this. Faces obscured are ominous. Below are examples of ominous faces making use of shadow.
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Writing Activity: Describe Main Street Of A Small Town
In this writing challenge, you’ll describe the main street of a small town, using artworks and expertly crafted paragraphs from books as inspiration.
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The Home Girls by Olga Masters Short Story Analysis
“The Home Girls” is a short story by Australian writer Olga Masters (1919 – 1986), and the first story of Masters’ 1982 collection, also called The Home Girls. I’m interested in Olga Masters partly because her fiction wasn’t published until she was in her 50s. Then, when she was published, she won a bunch of…
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Purple Blooms by Carol Shields Short Story Analysis
“Purple Blooms” is a short story by American-born Canadian writer Carol Shields (1935 – 2003), included in the collection Various Miracles (1985).
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Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg Picture Book Analysis
Jumanji is a 1981 picture book written and illustrated by American storyteller Chris Van Allsburg. You may be familiar with the 1995 film adaptation starring Robin Williams.
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The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee
The World of O is a trilogy of fantasy novels by New Zealand author Maurice Gee published 1982-1985. The Halfmen of O (1982) is the first of the series. We might call this series The New Zealand Chronicles of Narnia with a bit of sci-fi thrown in. There are also tropes recognisable from The Wonderful…
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The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg Analysis
The Stranger (1986) is the seventh picture book written and illustrated by popular American storyteller Chris Van Allsburg.
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The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tale Analysis
The Princess and the Pea was first published in 1835, one of a handful of satirical, colloquial fairy tales in an unbound collection by Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. The colloquial language didn’t go down well with critics at the time, who also didn’t appreciate that Andersen’s silly little “wonder tales” failed to convey a…
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Tennis And Badminton In Art
Humans worked out how much fun it is whack a thing with a bat like thing many, many years ago. Scenes of the joy of racquet sports such as tennis and badminton has been preserved in art.
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A Woggle of Witches by Adrienne Adams Analysis
A Woggle of Witches is a picture book written and illustrated by American storyteller Adrienne (“Dean”) Adams in 1971. In total, Adams wrote six of her own books; mostly they illustrated for other writers. Adrienne Adams was a prolific illustrator through the 1960s and beyond, and a two-time winner of a Caldecott Medal (1960 and…